Although Cal’s varsity softball team was expected to take control of EBAL, the ladies can’t seem to adjust to the unexpected coaching changes and key injuries. 

Injuries to starters junior second basemen Mariah Nesbit and senior infielder Colleen Moen take two key hitters out of the lineup. 

“This is a building year because the team lost there coaches, and lost multiple players to injury,” said Colleen. 

But the Grizzlies (9-7, EBAL 2-4) have  still been playing well lately, beating Monte Vista 9-5 on March 31 and losing 5-3 to San Ramon Valley on April 2.

On March 26, the girls traveled to Pleasanton to play Foothill. The usually dominant senior pitcher Krista Miller allowed seven runs in five innings. Brittany pitched the last two innings and allowed the final two runs in a 9-0 shutout.

The girls also were shut out, 4-0, on March 24 against Amador.

“The game taught us that we need to work more on hitting during practice,” said Krista.  

Cal played very well in the Queen of the Mountain Tournament on March 12-14 in Concord, beating Washington 4-0, Arroyo 9-0, and Benicia 4-2. 

The Grizzles only loss of the tournament was a 2-0 defeat in the tournament opener to Antioch. 

Cal’s second league game was played against Granada. Sophomore Brittany Wright pitched a shutout and scored the only run of the game. 

Freshman Sarita Lyon hit an RBI single to score Brittany. The Grizzlies had to play the game with out senior starting pitcher Krista, but still won 1-0. 

“We played well considering our injuries and setbacks,” said senior catcher Christie Taylor.

Cal played its first league game against Livermore on Feb. 17. The Grizzlies played hard, but Livermore came out on top in the 2-0 squeaker. 

“We came out ready to play, but the game just didn’t go our way,” said Christie.

The next day, Cal put the Livermore loss behind them and beat Irvington 11-3. 

While the season hasn’t lived up to the Grizzlies’ high expectations, Cal stills feels it can turn their season around. 

While NCS is long shot, the team right not is playing for pride and to protect their reputations.